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| - Sixty years after African-Americans began marching for civil rights in the United States, a new generation of activists and politicians has taken up the mantle once held by Martin Luther King. Here is a look at some of the prominent voices in today's civil rights struggle: The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was founded in 2013 after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death in Florida of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager. The loosely organized movement gathered momentum a year later after the death of another Black teenager, Michael Brown, who was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Since then, BLM has established chapters around the United States and has come to symbolize Black American victims of police violence. Harris, 56, the daughter of an Indian-born mother and a Jamaican-born father, is the first woman and first Black American to become vice president of the United States. Harris, addressing the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, noted that her parents took part in the civil rights marches of the 1960s. Harris welcomed the verdict but said "we still have a lot of work to do" when it comes to racial injustice and criminal justice reform. "America has a long history of systemic racism," she said. Abrams, 47, a former Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives, has become a leading advocate of voting rights for Black Americans. Her efforts helped Joe Biden become the first Democrat to win the presidential vote in Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992 and propelled two Democrats to victory in special Senate races in January. Crump, 51, a civil rights and personal injury attorney, has represented the families of several African-Americans killed in encounters with the police over the past several years, including the family of George Floyd. The veteran civil rights activist Al Sharpton, introducing Crump to supporters on Tuesday after Chauvin's conviction, described him as the "Attorney General for Black America." Floyd's younger brother, Philonise, and other family members have also become prominent activists for racial justice and police reform. "We got to keep fighting," Philonise Floyd said after the verdict. "I'm not just fighting for George anymore. I'm fighting for everybody around this world." Kaepernick, 33, the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, ignited a national debate when he took a knee during the playing of the national anthem at the start of National Football Leagues games in 2016 to protest police brutality against Black Americans. Kaepernick's gesture has been adopted by athletes in other sports and around the world to protest racism. James, 36, has used his platform as a four-time NBA champion and one of the greatest basketball players ever to speak out on racial and social issues and to campaign for Democratic candidates. Following Chauvin's conviction for the murder of George Floyd, the Los Angeles Lakers forward sent out a one-word tweet: "ACCOUNTABILITY." cl/bgs
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